Memories
by PrincessTiva
Summary: "Tell me about your family." What will Gibbs share with Alison? Did he know about Tony and Ziva all along? Part of the Alison Series. Ali. Gibbs. Slight Tiva. One-shot.


**A/N: Hey thereee :) I hope you're all well :) Sooo, I could tons of notes saying that you want another story in the Alison Series aaaand good news: here it is :) Thanks again for your wonderful support and all your kind words and stuff :) x3  
Summary: "Tell me about your family." What will Gibbs share with Alison? Did he know about Tony and Ziva all along? Part of the Alison Series. Ali. Gibbs. Slight Tiva. One-shot.  
Disclaimer: blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! (is that enough?! :D) [No.] (oh well okaaaay...) I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. BUT I own our beloved Alison and the storyline :D YAAAAAY! (happy now?) [yeaaah.]  
ENJOY REAAAADING :))  
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It was late Friday afternoon as Alison walked into Gibbs' house. His door was not locked, it never was. She headed straight to his basement as she knew that he would be down there, working on his boat.

Ali stopped at the very top of the staircase, tightening her grip on the cupcake she'd made. "You know, that's exactly where Ziva stood when she first walked into my basement.", Gibbs suddenly said, not even looking up from the wood.

"Where she shot Ari, right?!", Ali asked as she slowly made her way down the stairs. "Yes. She saved my life back then.", Gibbs said. Ali walked towards him and leaned against the counter.

She didn't say anything for some time, just watching Gibbs working on his boat. Eventually Gibbs dropped his tools and turned around to face Ali. "What is it?", he asked.

He knew exactly that there was a reason why Ali had showed up at his house on a Friday afternoon. Usually she would hang out with her best friend Ashley or her boyfriend Andrew.

So, he was certain that something had happened that had made Ali come over to his place. "Tell me about your family, Gibbs.", Ali blurted out. He raised an eyebrow and questioned: "What happened, Ali?"

She sighed before quietly whispering: "Eli called today." He took a step towards her and hugged her in a very father-like way. "What did he say?", he carefully asked. "He just told me that I'm no longer considered part of the family. And that he never wants to talk to me again.", she replied.

"It's not like I ever want to talk to him again. I mean, when I left Israel I never wanted to see him again. But it just kinda hurt to hear that my entire family – except Ziva and Tali – no longer want me. I just..", she continued but trailed off as she felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Shh, it's okay. No need to hide the tears.", Gibbs murmured and kissed her on the hair. She smiled weakly at him. "Did you tell Tony and Ziva?", Gibbs eventually asked but Ali shook her head.

"Do they know that you're here?", he wanted to know. "They think I'm at Ashley's place.", Ali said, looking down. "You have a really beautiful cupcake there.", he told her, making her smile up at him.

"You wanna try it?", she offered. "Sure Ali. I'll make us dinner and then we'll share the cupcake. How does that sound?", he suggested. She looked up again and gave him a thankful smile.

"I'd like that.", she agreed. "Then come on, lets get out of this basement.", he said.

* * *

"Oh my god, this steak is fabulous! You gotta give me the recipe!", Ali exclaimed as she took a bite of the steak Gibbs had made for them. He chuckled: "Tony said the same thing."

"So what? Don't give it to him, give it to me instead.", Ali suggested, giggling. Gibbs looked at her for a while then dropped his fork and knife. "You wanna talk about what happened today?", he asked.

"You already know all that.", Ali replied, dropping her knife and fork as well. He gave her his famous stare and Ali finally cried out: "I hate him!"

She jumped off the chair and repeated: "I hate him, okay?! He's horrible! He did terrible things but we was still my grandfather. I thought he had stopped being that horrible but he didn't. He hurt me again. And I hate him!"

Her voice was full of anger but suddenly her eyes started to water and her knees felt really weak. She looked at Gibbs, begging him to say something. But instead of saying anything he stood up and pulled her into a hug.

She buried her face on his shoulder and started to cry silently. She didn't want him to see her like that with all her walls down but she couldn't help it. She just needed that kind of comfort right now.

"It's okay to cry, you know.", Gibbs whispered in her ear as he held her. "No it's not. It's a sign of weakness.", Ali said as she started to cry harder. "Alison. Apologizing might be a sign of weakness. But crying is definitely not. It just shows that you're human.", he told her.

"I never cried when I was younger. I never did!", Ali exclaimed, burying her head in his shoulder, her voice barely audible. "Well this shows that you've been strong for too long. It's about time you realize that showing your feelings is not a bad thing.", he said as he rubbed her back reassuringly.

He prayed to God that he was handling the situation right. Sure, he had a daughter but Kelly had died when she was just a little girl. He never got to see her grow up properly but with Ali he had a second chance in watching a girl he referred to as "his little girl" grow up and, well, the whole package.

And man was he glad that he had this opportunity. "Ali, look at me.", Gibbs whispered to Ali who was still crying into his shoulder. She looked up to him and smiled weakly.

"Listen to me, Ali. You're not weak. And whatever Eli told you today, it doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything.", he told her. "Gibbs, it changes everything. Even though I hate to say it but this is my family we're talking about.", Ali replied, her voice almost breaking.

"It's your biological family.", Gibbs said quietly. As Ali gave him a questioning look he continued to explain: "We both know that you've been over your biological family long ago. But you have family here. Tony, Ziva, Tali. And of course you have us at NCIS. We all care for you, Ali. You know that, right?!"

Ali stared at him and nodded. Then a bright smile crossed her face. "You're right. Thank you, Gibbs.", she said, smiling like the sun again. "Nothing to thank me for. It was just the truth.", he told her, smirking.

"So, would you tell me something about your family, Gibbs?", she repeated her question from earlier that afternoon. He gestured to the table, signaling her to sit down again.

"Well, I usually don't like to talk about it. It's quite a long story. But if you're so keen on knowing I'm gonna tell you.", Gibbs offered. Ali nodded as she took another bite of the steak.

Gibbs smiled at her and started to tell his story: "When I was younger I always used to get into fights with my dad. We still don't get along that well but we try."

Suddenly Ali cut him off: "What about your mom? You never talk about her." Gibbs looked down at his hands and didn't say a word so Ali decided to just leave the subject alone.

"Sorry. Continue.", she apologized. He nodded and went on: "You probably know about my wife, well my first wife, Shannon. She was the best thing that's ever happened to me and I just recently realized that she was the only one I ever truly loved. She was the one for me. And you probably know about Kelly, my daughter. She was such a lovely kid. When they were killed my life was a mess. I still miss them like hell. It's almost not bearable sometimes. But ya know, when I joined NCIS my life finally started to make sense again. After their death I couldn't bear to stay a Marine. It reminded me too much of the past."

Ali nodded understandingly. "And then you met Mike Franks?!", she assumed. Gibbs smiled as he continued to talk: "Yes, I met Mike at NCIS. We were a great team. But after the events of 9/11 he quit and I was left without him, building a new team. Tony was my first member. I kind of stole him from Baltimore PD. But that's his story to tell. Some time later Kate joined our team after she was fired by Secret Service."

"And you had a thing for redheads back then.", Ali said smirking. Gibbs laughed and nodded. "Oh yes I did. But that was probably just because I was trying to replace Shannon which is not possible. I fell in love again though.", he told her.

Alison's eyes widened as she was finally able to put all those puzzle pieces together. "Jenny.", she whispered and as Gibbs nodded slyly she continued: "You were the one she used to talk about?"

"You knew Jenny?", Gibbs questioned in response. "Yes I did. We were actually quite close. Ziva and Jenny went on a couple missions together and Ziva saved her life once. I met her in Israel a couple times and when I went to Europe with Ziva.", Ali shared her memories.

"Where in Europe did you meet her?", Gibbs asked. "Paris, France. She told me a lot about you back then. I mean I didn't know you but I was certain that it was not just some random guy she was talking about. You meant a lot to her. She loved you, Gibbs.", she explained.

Gibbs looked down, trying hard to avoid Alison's gaze. "Gibbs? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.", she apologized quietly. "No need to apologize, Ali.", he assured her, smiling. Then he added: "Why weren't you at her funeral?" Ali sighted: "I wanted to go but Eli wouldn't allow it."

"But anyways. Jenny loved you, that's for sure. A couple weeks before she died she called me, telling me about her mission. I don't know why she told me but I guess she just needed to talk to someone who wasn't that involved. She told me that it was her biggest mistake to let you go.", she added.

"And I loved her.", Gibbs murmured. Ali smiled at him and gave him a look that clearly told him to continue with his story. So he did: "McGee joined the team soon after Kate did. Abby and Ducky were already at NCIS before Kate joined so we kinda were a great team. Then Kate was killed and our life was turned upside down by Ziva. Jenny became director of NCIS and she made Ziva the liaison officer. I guess you can imagine how Tony wouldn't work properly because of Ziva. I knew they'd break Rule 12 – it was only a matter of when not if. After I was injured in a bomb attack I quit and went to Mexico to live with Mike Franks."

"And then Ziva was accused of murder and she turned to you and you came back.", Ali said. "Yes, I came back. I missed NCIS and I'm glad that I came back.", Gibbs said.

"What happened then?", Ali asked and Gibbs continued with the story: "After Jenny died the new director, Vance, split the team up. We somehow managed to get reunited and that was that. But then Tony shot Rivkin and Ziva went back to Israel. We thought she was dead."

"But you found out that she wasn't and went to Somalia to save her.", Ali finished his statement. "Yes. She came back and joined NCIS as an Agent, became an American citizen.", Gibbs said, sounding very proud.

"Well then about one year ago Mike Franks died and that was kinda a huge shock for the entire team. But then you came and turned everything upside down.", he finished his story, smirking.

Ali smiled widely. It was great to see how Gibbs referred to the team as his family. "Do you still miss Shannon and Kelly?", Ali asked carefully. "Oh yes, I do. I miss them every day. But I can't change the past so I try to move on, live here and now. I have family here, you know.", he answered truthfully.

Ali nodded understanding. It was quiet for quite some time and Ali just stared at her hands. Gibbs had learned to get used to the fact that the team was his family.

He had learned to move on, leave his biological family behind. Would she ever be able to pass that bridge? Sure, she definitely considered the team to be her family but the call from Eli had still hurt.

Why had it hurt so much? Why couldn't she just forget about her past? "You have family here, Ali.", Gibbs reassured her as if he had read her thoughts. She nodded, trying to fight the tears.

"I'm tired, Gibbs.", she admitted. He smiled at her. Sometimes she really reminded him of Kelly. He never had the chance to see Kelly grow up completely but Ali was his second chance.

His chance to make things right, to take care of someone he considered "his little girl". "Do you wanna stay here tonight, Ali?", he offered. She yawned and nodded, getting up from her chair.

He smirked and told her to follow him. As he opened the door to Kelly's room Ali stopped dead in her tracks. "This is Kelly's room.", she whispered. Gibbs nodded and wrapped one arm around her.

"You, Alison, are a lot like Kelly.", he told her quietly. Alison's eyes started to water. "Really?", she asked and Gibbs nodded. Ali smiled at him and took her shoes off.

Then she slipped under the covers of the bed. Gibbs walked over to the bed and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Good night, kid.", he whispered, making her smile.

He closed the door behind him as he walked out. As Ali closed her eyes a small smile was still visible on her lips. And as she fell asleep a single thought crossed her mind: she definitely had family here.

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**A/N: Please tell me I'm not the only one who needed a kleenex at the end ;)  
As always: Pleaseeee leave me a comment and tell me what you think! :) I have another (LONGER!) Alison story in store for you guys (and this time seriously A LOT of Tiva!) If you're interested, let me know via comment, PM or twitter. If I get at least 4 "yes" I'll upload the first chapter tomorrow. :) (oh yesss, it's a multi chapter fanfic again! :D) Soo, let me know :D  
Love y'all  
~ C.**


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